Mindful Pause Podcast

EP 009: Tell Your Truth with Megan Febuary

Meet Megan Febuary, the Creator and editor-in-chief of For Women Who Roar (FWWR) magazine empowering women to share their stories through art, poetry and voice.

While many of us were goofing off with friends, at age 11, she wrote her first book, a biography about the middle school girls who were struggling with abuse and depression. No light conversation! At age 12 she wrote her first memoir. At a young age she was called to be a writer and story-teller.

She shares her pain and dark places and how she has turned it into light through expression of writing, poetry and voice.

From writing and sharing her truth as a young girl, Megan has turned her passion of embodying stories into a beautifully organic womens’ movement, holding the mic for women to share their stories through art, poetry and voice. For Women Who Roar, a digital and print magazine empowering womxn was born.

Grab a glass of wine, and bundle up because this soulful poet and I go deep into conversation as she shares how she connects with her darkness as well as her light and all of the spaces in between.

Connect with FWWR on instagram, Facebook and on FWWR website.

Thank you for rating, reviewing and sharing this podcast! Head over to my website for the SHOW NOTES and to leave a comment. 

EP 008 – Mantra Monday: The positive lesson I learned from my Dad’s death

I apologize for not posting an episode last Wednesday on the SOUL SCHOOL with AUDREY PODCAST. This past week has been the hardest of my life. One week ago, my dad, who is my lifeline, biggest supporter and best friend passed away. We had a really special father/daughter bond. He listened to me (unconditionally and patiently...and often for hours), was my biggest fan and a big supporter of female empowerment. He always encouraged me to believe in myself, especially when I couldn’t do it for myself. He was so excited to be a grandfather. When we found out we were having a girl, he said “Girls are the best! If you only get to have one, then definitely have a girl.” He was devoted to my mom and I. He was intelligent, witty, carefree, honorable, loving and self-less. He departed this earth too early.

To say my heart in broken is an understatement. But my dad was such an optimist and always said “Have No Regrets. Go live your life to the fullest.”

So, in his words, he would say “Never let a crisis go to waste.” I am giving myself time to cry, journal, receive, accept and express my sorrow. I am also looking for the lessons I can receive from him, as he was always a teacher.

Today’s Mantra is: Act as if today were your last day on earth.

It’s one of those sayings that is easy to say, and sounds really good, but really hard to do. We are human. We are busy. We forget.

We go to bed angry. We say hurtful things that sting and leave a lasting mark, especially to the ones closest to us. We withhold our love. We hold on to grudges. We don’t express our gratitude freely and often. We don’t appreciate every single thing and person.

Because we are human, we also need to give ourselves grace.

When you lose someone close to you, it’s normal to have regrets. There are things I wish I had said to my dad before he departed this world. I wish I wasn’t so stingy with my “I love you’s” or my hugs. I wish I didn’t have attitude or was snippy and sassy to him the weekend before he died. Even though we talked twice a day and saw each other a couple of times a week, I wish I had spent more quality time with him. I wish I had listened to him and let him talk more instead of being selfish. I wish I had expressed my gratitude for him being the best dad, role model and friend. I guess in the end, I just wish for more...

Never let a crisis go to waste. What can we learn?

Who would you make amends with? What grudges and judgements are you holding onto that don’t really matter? Who does matter to you? What do you want to say now to someone to express your appreciation? How can you be more fully present to what is important to you?

Do not waste today. Don’t hoard your love. Express freely and kindly your gratitude and love for others and yourself.

Act as if today were your last.

This is all so new and surreal. I’m going to send out some more lessons I learned as I work through this healing journey. If you’d like to stay in touch and receive this blog, please SIGN UP for my newsletter on my website in the show notes. 

Thank you for listening and being here for me. I hope I have helped you as much as you are helping me. I am truly grateful to you for being part of this amazing soulful community.

EP 007 - Mantra Monday: Cultivate Curiosity

Welcome to SOUL SCHOOL WITH AUDREY and Mantra Monday where we start your week off with an intention, a quote or just a little thought in 5 minutes of less to inspire your day and week. Today’s Mantra Monday is all about is cultivating curiosity.

If you’ve ever been around a small child, they are full of curiosity. They have unlimited questions, constantly wanting to why and how come and what is that? Babies are born curious. Children have an innate wonder and creative imagination. They truly experience life first hand. I think that’s why we love babies and kids, because they have such great joy from the simplest things in life. It’s amazing to watch a baby experience something new and giggle and laugh so hard or be awe-inspired by the color of a flower.

It’s sad to learn that children lose this curiosity around 5-6 years old. Instead of asking questions, they replace the wonder with the need to be right. They don’t want to look stupid or be embarrassed by being wrong. This is a learned behavior in our society from parents, siblings, school, and friends. By the time we are adults we are no longer curious. We just want to have the right answers. We want to know it all. We want to be successful. Instead, we spend the rest of our lifetimes trying to be perfect.

So, our Mantra Monday is all about allowing ourselves to be curious. Could you let go of being right or being perfect and just enjoy asking questions and wondering. We never let ourselves wonder anymore. We have google, siri and Wikipedia. The answers are at our finger tips, so we don’t need to be curious. But needing to be perfect squeezes the joy out of life, keeping us stuck in a small place. Being curious, however, rather than needing to be right takes a lot of pressure off us. We do not need to know the answers. We don’t need to be perfect. Instead of fast forwarding to the final outcome, we can enjoy the process. We can be free and be fully here immersed in the moment.

Curiosity expands our perspective. Perfection limits it.

How can you bring back more of that child-like wonder so that you can enjoy the magic in every day moments? How would you be freed? How would you enjoy life a little more fully by allowing yourself to not need to know the answer or be perfect? Today, how can you cultivate a little more curiosity?

Thanks for tuning in. I would love to hear your comments on my website about how this has helped you and what you would like to hear next.

And of course, thank you in advance for sharing, rating and reviewing this podcast on iTunes!

EP 006 – Lean into Fear and Whole-heartedly Speak Your Truth with Leah Zaccaria

Meet Leah Zaccaria, one of my favorite yoga teachers, Soul Sisters and author of her memoir book, SEEN, that just was published in October 2018.

Always vulnerable and whole-heartedly open and raw, Leah shares her personal story of divorce, taking the leap of faith to change careers leaving corporate life to open her yoga studios, to writing her first book.

She provides so many good nuggets of wisdom of how leaning into fear head on helps you have the courage to conquer your wildest dreams and flow through transitions with grace and ease. 

** Episode recorded September 2018

Connect with Leah:

Facebook 

Instagram

 Buy her memoir book: SEEN

www.Hautyogaqueenanne.com

Head to my website: www.YourBlissfulSoul.com to comment and for show notes. Thank you for rating and reviewing this podcast on iTunes!

EP 005 - Mantra Monday: Peace begins with me

Welcome to Mantra Monday where we start your week off with an intention, a quote or just a little thought in 5 minutes of less to inspire your day and week. Today’s mantra is Peace Begins with ME.

Most of the time, we are unconsciously reacting to circumstances, to people, to our own emotions and feelings. Think about a time when you were triggered…maybe your day started out poorly already and when this one person said or did something, it sent you into a spiral downward either towards anger, sadness, judgment. How did you feel? Sometimes these feelings stay with you, and may even cause you to lash back or bring this heavy, negative energy with you, effecting other people and affecting the rest of your day. This happens all the time.

You will expend your energy somewhere. You are not a victim. So why not take back your power and consciously choose where to give your energy.

You cannot choose the circumstance, or how a person triggers you, or what someone else does or says, or even your thoughts and feelings which come and go constantly. But you can choose to pause, breathe, and create space to view and witness what is going on and what shows up, so that you can then choose your next behavior.

Instead of letting the heavy and edgy sensations take control over you, you can feel and watch these sensations, breath through them and know that peace begins with you. Instead of immediately and unconsciously reacting, you can consciously respond.

Take a big breath, and on your exhale, say out loud or silently “Peace Begins with ME.” Repeat this as many times until you feel a little calmer and more centered. It’s not easy to do. This does not happen overnight. This is a practice not a destination. It takes practice over and over, until it gets a little easier and someday will become a habit.

Joy is not the absence of suffering, the absence of challenges, or the absence of anything else. Living with joy means that we develop a sense of inner well-being that allows us to embrace whatever the present moment offers. The joy of living is to live with confidence, lightness, and humor, with the knowledge that all our thoughts and emotions are nothing more than ripples on the surface of awareness.

Have the life you want by being present to the life you have.

Was this helpful? Head over to iTunes to rate + review my podcast. Thank you so much!

 www.YourBlissfulSoul.com to subscribe to events, blog and podcast. 

Today on the Soul School podcast I share our journey from miscarriage due to a partial molar pregnancy to cancer scare to being pregnant! I’ll share all of the scary, sad and joyful details, in addition to the 5 gifts I learned from this year long grief and healing process. 

Crisis is crisis, to that person experiencing it. We all deal with trauma differently. We are all in different seasons of our life, and no matter what season you’re in I hope our conversation today will help you or any one you love who is suffering from any type of grief.

I’m nervous to share because it’s so personal and vulnerable, but if it helps you, then it is all worth it! We are not alone. We are in this journey of life together, through our struggles, our stories and our connection.

Along the way I found a poem that spoke to me in my time of sadness and how it helped to slowly pull myself back together. Hopefully it speaks to you too:

The Guest House, by Rumi

This being human is a guest house.

Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,

some momentary awareness comes

as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!

Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,

who violently sweep your house

empty of its furniture,

still, treat each guest honorably.

He may be clearing you out

for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,

meet them at the door laughing,

and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,

because each has been sent

as a guide from beyond.

No matter what you are going through right now, be gentle with yourself as you take time to heal. It is through the practice of surrender that I could lean into my own compassion and self-love.

In my vulnerability, my hope is to help open the pathway to shed light on your own lessons, to allow you to truly feel your feelings and move through them from your highest self with grace, patience, love and faith.

It would be an honor to hear from you and your story. Head over to instagram and share or let me know on my website if this has helped you. Also, thank you so much for sharing this episode and reviewing this podcast. Your support means so much to me!

Resources:

www.YourBlissfulSoul.com

REAL FOOD for mother and baby by Nina Planck

Meet Sarah Adler, an amazing nutrition coach, healthy lifestyle expert, food blogger, top selling healthy cookbook author, real food lover and owner of Simply Real Health.

Sarah and I dive deep into real conversation as she shares her personal story about her unhealthy obsession with eating healthy, counting calories and her anxiety that robbed her of the joy around food. She shares advice about how you too can take simple steps and easily take charge of your health right now.

We talk about the instagram sensation that helped launch her next cookbook and she gets personal sharing her fertility journey and her emotional struggle with Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

We go deep into soulful conversation where she provides sage business advice and life wisdom of the importance of getting quiet in order to be in alignment to follow your heart and pursue your professional and personal dreams. Tune in to find out what’s next for Sarah Adler.

Simply Real Health: https://www.simplyrealhealth.com

Instagram: @simplyrealhealth

Today our topic is all about addictions and shadows. You’ll learn what a shadow is and 3 steps of how to heal that inner demon. This is a very personal issue for me, as I have struggled with food my whole life.

Some people have alter egos. Beyoncé has Sasha Fierce. I, unfortunately, have Fat Kid Freddy. When he is in control, I travel down a shame spiral into guilt, self-loathing and disappointment.

Shadows are those parts of our personality that we don’t like and try to hide, so we stuff them down. But just like our shadow, it will always follow us until we really look at it.

This mindful practice takes time and is a true practice. We all have our habits that we have developed over how many decades, so, be gentle on yourself when creating new habits and thought patterns.

Take it one step at a time – not even one day at a time. Be present and aware. show yourself some love and compassion - you’ve got this!

I want to hear from you! Please leave a comment for me on my website about your inner shadows. I really hope this helps you!

Also please head to Itunes for a review and subscribe.

www.YourBlissfulSoul.com

Hi and welcome to soul school. I’m Audrey Sutton Mills and I love to have deep soulful conversations. We can become distracted in our world full of technology and busy in roles and thoughts.

We are deeply seeking connection to ourselves, to each other and to the world around us. So, that’s where SOUL SCHOOL was created – to have a sacred space for topics that feed your soul and inspire you to live your best life.

I hope you enjoy it, and I would love to connect with you and learn more about you. Thank you for subscribing to this podcast and reviewing it. I would love to hear what and who you want to hear from next!

Let’s connect on instagram or sign up on my website:

www.YourBlissfulSoul.com